When we released the Stratocaster in 1954, we didn’t set out to create a classic—but we did. The Stratocaster’s sleek style, articulate sound and plethora of innovations redefined electric guitar and opened up a brave new world of musical possibilities. The American Original ‘50s Stratocaster maintains Fender’s legendary original-era style and ground-breaking tone, while adding modern feel and pickup switching.
A period of change, both for Fender and for pop culture as a whole, the 1960s saw the Strat mellow slightly as it grew up. The white pickguard was updated to mint green, and the fingerboard was switched from the original maple to rosewood, adding a smoother note to the Strat’s clear, articulate voice. The American Original ‘60s Stratocaster keeps these refinements intact while adding modern feel and pickup switching to the iconic instrument that helped birth guitar rock as we know it.
The ultimate blue-collar guitar, the Telecaster launched a musical revolution when we released it. Quickly adopted by working guitarists who were enamored with its trend-setting sound, feel and unique style, the Telecaster laid the foundation for modern country, blues and even heavy metal (in Jimmy Page’s hands). The American Original ‘50s Telecaster has all of the authentic Fender touches that made the Telecaster a star of the studio and stage, adding modern feel and pickup switching to this classic guitar.
One of the most versatile guitars ever created, the Telecaster is easily at home in any genre, thanks to its flexible sound, alluring style and smooth playing feel. In 1960, we offered rosewood as the standard fingerboard wood and launched the Telecaster Custom, an elegant model with a double-bound body and 3-ply pickguard. The American Original ‘60s Telecaster combines period-accurate sound and style from this electrifying decade with modern, fast-playing feel and pickup switching.
Originally designed to appeal to jazz guitarists with elegant appointments and sophisticated controls, the Jazzmaster found its way into the hands of musical rebels. From surf to punk and indie rock, its flexible sound heralded the call of change and shaped the voice of rebellion. The American Original ‘60s Jazzmaster faithfully recreates the voice and style of this classic guitar, supplementing them with smooth, modern playability.
Never resting in our mission to make life better for musicians, we created the short-scale Jaguar guitar in 1962. Originally released as our feature-rich, top-of-the-line electric guitar, it inspired the heroes of the musical underground and hit its stride with surf, punk and alternative guitarists. The American Original ‘60s Jaguar brings that supple sound and slinky playability to life again, slightly tweaked for a modern feel.
When we released the Stratocaster in 1954, we didn’t set out to create a classic—but we did. The Stratocaster’s sleek style, articulate sound and plethora of innovations redefined electric guitar and opened up a brave new world of musical possibilities. The American Original ‘50s Stratocaster LH maintains Fender’s legendary original-era style and ground-breaking tone, while adding modern feel and pickup switching.
A period of change, both for Fender and for American culture as a whole, the 1960s saw the Strat mellow as it grew up. The white pickguard was updated to mint green, and the fingerboard was switched from the original maple to rosewood, adding a smoother note to the Strat's clear, articulate voice. The American Original '60s Stratocaster keeps these refinements intact while adding modern feel and pickup switching to the iconic instrument that helped birth guitar rock as we know it.
The ultimate blue-collar guitar, the Telecaster launched a musical revolution when we released it. Quickly adopted by working guitarists who were enamored with its trend-setting sound, feel and unique style, the Telecaster laid the foundation for modern country, blues, and even heavy metal (in Jimmy Page’s hands). The American Original ‘50s Telecaster LH has all of the authentic Fender touches that made the Telecaster a star of the studio and stage, while adding modern feel and pickup switching to this classic guitar.
By the 1960s, the Precision Bass was the workhorse electric bass; from the clubs of Detroit to the beaches of Southern California, its tone laid the foundation for modern music. The American Original ‘60s Precision Bass has all of the features with which the P Bass conquered the world of music—elegantly simple, its sound, style and comfort are joined by modern playability.
Released in 1960, the upscale Jazz Bass quickly found favor among working bassists thanks to its premium appointments and versatile sound. The narrower neck seemed tailor-made for fast, dexterous playing, while the pair of single-coil pickups added a bold new dimension to Fender bass tone. The American Original ‘60s Jazz Bass has all the tone and style of its earliest incarnation, with modern playability.
Over the course of the ‘70s, the Jazz Bass entered its “teenage years,” changing its visual style and inspiring new playing techniques—such as slapping—which led directly to new, creative forms of expression. Its smooth feel and growly midrange, tempered with a bit of treble bite, made it a hero in recording sessions around the globe. The American Original ‘70s Jazz Bass updates the smooth playing feel with a modern-radius fingerboard, while retaining the classic Fender tone and style that made the Jazz Bass the tool of choice for creative bassists.
Few companies can honestly claim to have changed the world like we did when we created the Precision Bass in 1951. By making playing bass easily accessible, it helped musicians find their creative voice and create new forms of music. The American Original ‘50s Precision Bass updates the playability of this groundbreaking instrument while retaining the original sound and style that changed the world.
When it comes to the classics, sometimes you just have to have it original—and it doesn’t get much more classic than Gibson’s legendary SG, a rock and blues icon since its introduction in 1961. The new SG Original from Gibson USA brings back the look, feel, and tone of the most desirable SG Standards ever made, thanks to the use of Grade-A tonewoods, exacting specs, and premium hardware and pickups. From the slim ’60s neck profile, to the trim early ’60s headstock shape and smaller ’61 pickguard, to the tonally rich and versatile ’57 Classic humbucking pickups, to the vibrola tailpiece with “lyre” cover, the SG Original nails the vibe of the seminal SG in every respect, bringing you a stunning “reissue” style guitar at an impressively affordable price. With its high-gloss nitrocellulose finish in Heritage Cherry, complemented by acrylic trapezoid inlays, it looks superb, too, and offers the unparalleled playability you only get from a genuine Gibson.The construction of any great electric guitar begins with great woods, and the new SG Original from Gibson USA has a foundation of some of the most hallowed tonewoods in Gibson history. The body is made from solid Grade-A mahogany, a wood known for its depth and richness, and crafted in the distinctive, thin asymmetrical dual-cutaway style, with iconic pointed “horns” and beveled edges to enhance playing comfort. The glued-in neck is also made from Grade-A mahogany, this time cut to the quarter-sawn orientation for superior strength and resonance, and carved to a fast, slim ’60s SG profile that measures .800” deep at the 1st fret and .890” at the 12th. It is topped with a bound fingerboard made from a single piece of Grade-A rosewood, with a 12” radius, 22 medium-jumbo frets, and a PLEK-cut Corian™ nut with a width of 1 11/16”—all major factors in Gibson’s legendary playing feel. The larger vintage-style headstock has the classic mother-of-pearl Gibson logo and holly inlays. The SG Original recreates the great tones of vintage SG Standards via a pair of ’57 Classic humbucking pickups, some of the most popular recreations of vintage PAF humbuckers available today. Each carries a genuine Alnico II bar magnets and is wound with 42-AWG enamel-coated wire, for the characteristic blend of warmth and creaminess that made original PAFs legendary, updated with wax potting for howl-free performance at high volume levels. The traditional wiring complement of an independent volume and tone control per pickup plus a three-way toggle selector switch allows a broad range of sonic variations. Gibson USA loads in a Tune-o-Matic bridge with a Lyre vibrato tailpiece to expand your playing horizons, and a set of genuine TonePros™ vintage-style tuners with an efficient 16:1 gear ratio for rock-solid tuning. Add it all up, and for look, feel, and tone, the SG Original is a stunning recreation of the iconic early ’60s SG Standard. Each guitar includes a black Gibson hardshell case, owner’s manual, and truss-rod wrench, and comes covered by Gibson USA’s Limited Lifetime Warranty and 24/7/365 Customer Service.
The catalog in 1934 described this new Jumbo guitar as having a “heavy, booming tone… a bass that will amaze you and a clear, brilliant treble in perfect balance.” An understated truth about the biggest guitar Gibson had ever built at that time. And anyone who has had the good fortune to come upon one of these rare originals (they were only produced for two years) can testify to their power and prowess. This year’s new 1934 Original Jumbo is a replica inspired by an instrument found in vintage-Gibson expert Gary Burnett’s collection. Earlier this year Burnett made his rare 1934 Jumbo, serial number 507A, available to us to measure, photograph, analyze and play. The luthiers at Gibson Acoustic set out to recreate the aged, woody tone of the classic collectible, as well as the appearance. Building a small-run reproduction model is a labor-intensive process. The red spruce top is sanded to a thinner dimension to match the original and has a smaller 3¾ sound hole. The top bracing and back braces are period-correct and hand-finished to those dimensions. Cloth stays and x-brace covers are applied by hand. The historically accurate interior back strip is also cut and finished by hand. The head block is configured with notched corners and the body depth matches that of the original. The guitar features a 1.75 nut-width with historic string spacing on the neck and bridge. Both the top-to-side and back-to-side body binding is smaller in dimension. The tapered peg head sports a beautiful set of open back nickel tuners and a small, vintage script Gibson logo. The neck, a heavy, period-correct V profile, has a simple but elegant fully-bound rosewood fingerboard with mother-of-pearl dot inlays. The sunburst finish has a classic pear-shaped center tapering perfectly to a dark rich deep umber brown edge. The back and side ribs have a rusty-red burst on the deep brown mahogany. All body parts are assembled with hide glue. The 1934 Original Jumbo is limited to a run of 100 guitars, a true hand-made, American legend. Each guitar includes a period-correct red line hardshell case with plush-lined interior, owner's manual, Gibson's Gold Warranty and Gibson's 24/7/365 Customer Service.